There was a long period of time after Titanic where director James Cameron became obsessed with being an explorer. He released a handful of films documenting his undersea exploration, including Expedition: Bismarck, Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep. It was mildly intriguing stuff, but I think a lot of people only wanted to know when he would get back to making blockbuster action movies. Now that we’ve heard that Battle Angel and Avatar are on the way, Cameron has announced another new project involving — you guessed it — undersea exploration! Old habits die hard I guess.

The movie, called Sanctum, will actually be a fictional drama about a father and son deep-sea diving team who come up against a life-threatening crisis. Cameron will produce and co-write, while Expedition: Bismarck collaborator Gary Johnstone will direct. The movie will be shot in high-def 3D (to be released in Imax theatres no doubt), but despite the “cutting edge technology” will only have a $20 million budget. If you ask me, this just sounds like a less interesting version of The Abyss, but what do I know? I think Cameron should keep his sea-faring ways to himself and stop trying to inflict it on moviegoers. On the other hand, if he does finally decide to start exploring space, I’d probably pay to see that on film. Where’s Richard Branson when you need him?